


Overworked and Underpaid

by IsaacTheGreat69



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Soup, sick boyos, some like mild angst and anxiety
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-18
Updated: 2018-09-18
Packaged: 2019-07-13 21:50:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16026662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IsaacTheGreat69/pseuds/IsaacTheGreat69
Summary: Thomas has been really busy, and hasn't been socializing with his friends much. It's not much of a problem, until it is.





	1. Chapter 1

Virgil was exhausted. He’d been on high alert for days, no, weeks now. He stayed up throughout the night worrying and stressing and trying to fix something that the others didn’t think was broken and it was wearing on him. He couldn’t remember the last time he actually slept. The closest he remembers was one day last week when he’d been about to sleep, his body giving in to the desire for rest, and Patton had knocked on his door and told him to come down to breakfast, scaring the daylights out of him.

So, it’s been a while.

At first, it’s just the anxiety. He’s just stressed, keyed up, exhausted. He can handle that. He can handle how he starts to see things in the shadows of his room and the headache that gets worse with each day because it’s all happened before. He doesn’t think much of it when he looks in the mirror and he looks pale. Well, paler than usual. He hasn’t been sleeping, he reasons with himself, of course he’s going to look paler. Especially when the bags under his eyes were no longer makeup.

At first, no one sees anything wrong. At most, they figure Virgil is just having a bad day, or a bad week. They assume he’s been staying up late listening to music or watching The Office again. When he squints in the light because it makes his head throb, they just joke that he spends too much time in his dark room and he lets them. It’s better that they don’t worry. Patton compliments him on his eyeshadow, says he’s getting better at it, it looks so realistic! And Virgil just grins because Patton doesn’t need to know that he hasn’t had the energy to put on makeup in almost a week.

Then, he can’t focus on anything. Thomas gets irritated when Virgil zones out badly during a video, though he tries not to show it. Roman gets aggravated when he tries to run an idea by Virgil, searching for approval, only to find out Virgil hasn’t been listening since he walked up to him. Logan asks him how long it’s been since he’s slept, and Virgil can only shrug, because he doesn’t know. He doesn’t know anymore. Every day blends into the next because he can’t sleep and he can’t focus and he feels so damn tired. Patton looks at him with concern and asks what’s wrong, because Virgil’s eyes are watering, but they’ve been doing that a lot lately, so Virgil says nothing’s wrong and goes back to his room.

Virgil finds one day that he can’t stand still without swaying dangerously on the spot. His mind is cloudy, and his eyes have a hard time focusing. It’s alright, he tells himself, he just won’t stand still. So, for the next three days he doesn’t stop. He makes his rounds through the mindscape, ever the protector. He helps Patton when he needs it, even though the moral side always looks guilty for asking for Virgil’s help. He lets Logan use him to test hypotheses and works as a lab assistant when he wants to try some chemistry experiment, even though Logan has to take the beaker from him because his hands won’t stop shaking, but _I’m not panicking Lo, I promise, it’s okay_. He plays the villain in Roman’s adventures so that the creative side has someone to fight who isn’t an NPC, and even though he feels weak and his vision swims and he feels like he’s freezing, he puts his all into it because Princey would never accept a sub-par villain.

He doesn’t notice when Roman looks at him strangely and brings them out of the imagination. He doesn’t notice when they rise up in the commons, Patton and Logan on the couch watching TV and reading a book respectively. He doesn’t notice when Roman asks what’s wrong; he can hear him say something, but he doesn’t know what, and when Patton gets up and starts coming towards him he thinks Roman’s started the fight scene and tries to charge him. He takes three steps and starts to fall, his legs giving out on him, and he wonders how Roman managed to do that when he was so far away. Someone grabs his shoulders just as his knees hit the carpet and in the back of his mind he wonders when the stage became so soft before everything goes black.

* * *

 

When he wakes up, he panics. He doesn’t know where he is or what’s happening or why he can’t move and _why can’t he open his eyes_? His breathing starts coming in shaky gasps and he tries to sit up, but he _can’t_ and he’s freaking out _and there’s a hand on his chest he’s going to die-_

“Shhhh, Virgil you need to calm down. Shhh, it’s okay, you’re okay. You’re in Logan’s room. We figured this would be the safest place for you besides the commons… Take a deep breath, it’s okay.”

He goes lax, but only because he doesn’t have any energy, and he tries to do as the voice says. He’s shivering; he’s still freezing and he’s not wearing his jacket for some reason. Where did it go?

“Are you cold? I’ll go get you a blanket. Don’t move, I’ll be right back.”

He falls back under before the voice comes back.

For days, he’s in and out of consciousness. He never opens his eyes; his eyelids feel like they’re made of lead and he just doesn’t have the energy to force them open. He switches from being too cold to being too hot constantly and his chest hurts and his throat feels like it’s full of cotton; dry and thick. Even though he can’t move – he’s trapped he’s trapped _he’s t r a p p e d_ – he can feel how much his joints ache. Every time he wakes up he just wants it to end and he hates it, but there’s always a voice talking to him as he tries to take full, deep breaths because if his chest expands too much his lungs burn.

The voice doesn’t always sound the same, but it’s always comforting. Sometimes it tells him that everything’s okay, that he’s okay, how long he’s been sleeping (but he always forgets by the next time he wakes up). Sometimes it’ll tell him grand adventures in a soft tone, as if it was scared of frightening him but wanted to make him feel better for being trapped – trapped trapped _t r a p p e d_ – in bed. He liked those stories; they always ended with him being celebrated as a hero or running away with the prince. Sometimes the voice would give him facts in a smooth, even tone; sometimes they were about what was happening, sometimes they were random things like “When Hitler invaded Paris, the French turned off all power to the Ifle Tower so that the Nazis would have to take the stairs instead of the lifts.” He didn’t know why the voice told him these things, but it was nice to hear a voice at all, so he didn’t say anything.

Once, he woke up and the voice wasn’t there. He was terrified; what happened to the voice? Was it angry with him? Did it get hurt? He’d rushed to sit up, his lungs screaming in protest and his head throbbing. His eyelids fluttered, but he couldn’t make out anything he saw before everything was warped with his tears. He started crying, openly sobbing, his entire form shaking with the effort. The voice was gone, he drove it away with how useless he was, it hated him and now he was alone. He cried harder, gasping for breath between sobs, and he must have been doing that for five minutes before he heard the sound of the door opening, and just like that the voice was back.

“Oh Virge, oh sweetheart, shhh, shhhh, it’s okay. I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you woke up, I’m so sorry. It’s okay, you’re okay. Lay down baby.” The voice pets his hair and gently pushes him back to lay down again, pulling away briefly to fix the blankets and put something cold on his hot forehead. It feels amazing and only makes Virgil cry harder; the voice was just going to get him something nice and he’d assumed it hated him. The voice continues to shush him softly, and eventually he settles down, taking slow, even breaths. He was tired, he just wanted to sleep.

“I know you’re tired baby, but do you think you can eat? It’ll make you feel better.”

Virgil is confused how the voice read his mind, but he shakes his head. He can’t eat, he can’t! He doesn’t want to, please don’t make him! He starts crying again and the voice makes a sad noise, shushing him again and petting his hair. He calms down fairly quickly, too tired to keep crying, and the voice talks him into eating, saying that if he can eat a little bit it’ll let him sleep as long as he wants. He nods, and the voice gently helps him sit up, leaning him against something hard and pressing a spoon to his lips. He opens his mouth dutifully and swallows the soup. He’s still hot, sweating in his shirt and boxers, but the soup feels nice going down his throat.

Once the voice decides he’s eaten enough, it helps him lay back down, readjusts the cold thing on his forehead, and tells him to sleep. Virgil nods, and he’s out before he even realizes it.

The next time he’s awake, he feels like complete crap, but at least he can open his eyes now. He looks around with his limited mobility, taking in the sight of Logan’s room. Why was he in Logan’s room? Why wasn’t he in his room? Was there something wrong with it? He tries to sit up, but there’s a heavy weight on his chest and he realizes for the first time that it’s a little hard to breathe. He raises his head just slightly to see what’s holding him down and sees Patton practically laying on top of him, sitting on the edge of the bed and slumped over Virgil, asleep.

His arms are wrapped around Virgil, pinning his arms to his sides, and Virgil feels extremely uncomfortable being trapped like this. It’s a little hard to breathe and Virgil is uncomfortably hot, and he can feel the slightly damp bedsheets leaving lines in his skin. Virgil tries to move, managing to pry his arms free and raising one shaky hand to shake Patton’s shoulder.

“P-Pat.” Wow, his voice sounds like _shit_. He tries to clear his throat – _ow_ – and tries again. “Pat- Patton. Wake up.” Patton stirs, but stays sleeping. Virgil huffs weakly and shakes him a little harder, speaking louder despite how it burns his throat. “Patton, I can’t breathe. Wake up.” Patton huffs softly, starting to wake up, and his eyes flutter open. He sits up slowly, rubbing his eyes, and when he looks at Virgil he freezes. Virgil is about to say something when Patton smiles widely and leaps at Virgil, hugging him tightly. “Oh, kiddo! I’m so glad you’re awake! You had us all worried so much! How are you feeling? How’s your throat? Does your head still hurt?”

Virgil wheezes, tapping Patton on the back. “C-can’t… Breathe.” Patton is off him in an instant, looking embarrassed. “Oh, I’m sorry kiddo! I just got so excited, you haven’t woken up in two days and-“

“Wait,” Virgil cuts in, and it’s a testament to Patton’s hearing that he can even hear Virgil’s hoarse voice and closes his mouth. “How long have I been sick?” Oh god, please don’t let it be something bad like-

“….Two weeks?”

Virgil balks. Two weeks? Oh god, he’s left Thomas to fend for himself for two whole weeks? How could he be so stupid, how could he have let this happen? Was Thomas okay? What if Virgil had been replaced? Two weeks was a long time, what if the other sides figured out how to function without him? What if they didn’t need him? Worse, what if they did and he wasn’t there and now Thomas was-

“Whoa, whoa, slow down kiddo, deep breaths. Thomas is okay, we’re all okay. You’re safe, everyone’s safe. Just breathe. That’s it, come on now, shhhh.” Patton pushes him back down on the bed. Virgil hadn’t even realized that he’d sat up, or that he’d just said all of that out loud. His head is spinning, though he doesn’t know if it’s from the sickness or his racing thoughts. Patton pets his hair, continuing to shush him softly. “Everything’s okay, you just rest up and get better, okay kiddo?” Virgil nods. “You think you can eat something?” When Virgil nods again, Patton gets up – albeit reluctantly – and leaves the room.

Virgil takes the moment of silence to think to himself, having his first moments of clarity for – apparently – two weeks. He couldn’t remember much of being sick, but the parts he did remember made him blush slightly. Hands petting his hair, calm voices talking to him when he’d wake up, that panic when he’d woken up and no one was there, crying because he didn’t want to eat.

How pathetic.

Patton comes back a moment later with a tray, setting it by Virgil’s feet and helping the anxious side sit up. He spoon-feeds Virgil, who’s cheeks are pink, and he refuses to make eye contact. Patton smiles softly, helping Virgil drink some water before setting the tray on Logan’s desk. “You think you’re up to seeing Lo and Ro? They’ve been really worried, too.” Virgil nods, looking at his lap as he rasps out, “Yeah, fine, bring them in.”

Patton jumps up excitedly and goes to get Roman and Logan, and a moment later all four sides are sitting on the bed talking, though the three healthy sides do most of the chatting; they understand that Virgil’s still healing and hearing his poor abused voice kind of makes them cringe. The four of them talk for a couple hours before Virgil’s eyelids start drooping, losing energy and trying hard to stay awake. Roman smiles at him softly and ends their conversation, telling Virgil to get some sleep and leaving with Logan. Patton tucks Virgil in, petting his hair and talking to him until he manages to fall asleep.

The next time Virgil wakes up, he feels completely fine and he’s alone in Logan’s room. His throat is still a little scratchy, and when he goes to stand he feels dizzy for a brief moment, but he feels good enough, so he heads down to the commons. As he predicted, the other three are watching TV (or reading, in Logan’s case) and look up when he walks in. They all smile at him as he sits on the opposite end of the couch, and Virgil smiles back. He’s thankful no one mentions the fact that he was basically incapacitated for two weeks or berates him for pushing himself so hard, and just enjoys a quiet afternoon with his family.

“Guys? …Shouldn’t we tell Thomas?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The same events as chapter one, told more in-depth from the other side's perspectives

It had been worrying Patton how busy Thomas was making himself. He was doing nothing but working! He didn’t even give himself the chance to hang out with friends, unless he needed to talk to them for a project, and even then, it wasn’t anything fun! Patton knew that it was important to give oneself breaks and have some relaxation time, and he also couldn’t forget what Virgil had said months ago. _“Your really good friends, they… Help me out. They provide **constancy**.”_ Patton knew that Virgil had to be taking all of this hard.

Even if Thomas wasn’t anxious about meeting deadlines or being late with anything, Virgil was always anxious about those things himself. And without Thomas’ friends around to provide that constant reassurance and comfort, Patton couldn’t imagine how Virgil must be feeling after so long. When he would walk by Virgil’s room, he could always hear him pacing and muttering to himself. Even in the dead of night, if Patton got up to get some water or had just turned off Parks & Rec, he could hear Virgil wide awake either in his room or making his rounds. Patton wasn’t sure if he should talk to Virgil; the other was always so closed off, and they hadn’t been one big happy family for very long. As much as he loved and cared for his kiddo, he doubted the other would tell him if something was wrong.

He kept an eye on Virgil, though, watching as the anxious side became more and more fidgety, more and more jumpy, seemed more and more tired. He noticed how Virgil started squinting at the light and had to force himself to laugh a bit when Roman would joke about how Virgil spends too much time in that cave of a room; he only laughs because he doesn’t want to worry the others or make Virgil suspicious of him. Virgil starts looking paler, and the eyeshadow under his eyes starts looking less like eyeshadow and more like sleep-deprived bags. Patton makes a comment, tells Virgil, “Wow kiddo! You’re getting so good at putting eyeshadow on! It looks so realistic!” because he hopes Virgil will correct him, tell him he’s not wearing makeup, give him an in to talk about this, to tell Patton what’s wrong and let the father figment help him. He just grins, and Patton tries to convince himself it really is just makeup.

He feels his worry grow when Virgil starts zoning out a lot. In the middle of filming a new video, Virgil’s line comes up and the four men stand around looking at Virgil for a solid five minutes before Virgil realizes his mistake and apologizes. Patton can feel Thomas getting worried, he feels it too, but he tries to push it down because he needs to figure out what’s going on with Virgil. He needs to talk to Roman and Logan about this, but not right now. They call it a day and Virgil heads straight to his room.

He mentions to Roman and Logan that he thinks something’s wrong with Virgil. He tells them what he’s noticed and what he’s worried about and what he suspects. Roman brushes it off as Patton being an overly-protective dad-at-heart, but Logan seems to take Patton’s concerns under consideration. Virgil comes down a few hours later, heading to the kitchen, walking like a zombie, and the other sides share a look before Roman parades into the kitchen, his voice flowing out from the kitchen as he talks to Virgil with all of his usual bravado. When Virgil doesn’t respond, instead just standing there with his water, Roman’s eyebrows scrunch together, and he snaps his fingers in Virgil’s face. Virgil startles and apologizes, then walks around Roman hurriedly.

Logan stops Virgil with his voice, asking him how long it’s been since he’s slept, and Virgil just shrugs at him. That makes Patton’s worry intensify, and he can feel the other two worry as Roman makes his way out of the kitchen. Virgil looks like he’s about to cry, Patton can’t handle it anymore. He knows he needs to wait for Virgil to trust him, to open up to him, but he’s so worried for his poor exhausted kiddo that he asks, “What’s wrong, kiddo?” Virgil takes a moment to respond, and every second is agony to Patton before Virgil mutters a subdued, “Nothing’s wrong” and disappears before anyone can say anything.

* * *

 

It’s been weeks now, and Thomas is still as busy as ever, and Virgil only seems to be getting worse. Patton catches him in the kitchen one evening, standing in front of the open fridge swaying like he’s about to fall over, and he’s about to say something when Virgil mutters a, “just don’t stand still” and closes the fridge, shuffling out of the kitchen and starting on his nightly patrol of the mindscape. Patton wants so badly to stop him, to force him to bed, but after their last interaction he knows that wouldn’t be well-received.

* * *

 

Patton is getting the ingredients to make cookies, because he knows that when he’s had a tough time of it that cookies help him, and he knows Virgil’s favorite, so he’s making those. He gathers ingredients in his arm as he goes, going down the mental checklist in his mind. He realized he’s forgotten the oatmeal and tries to grab it, but his arms are completely full. Someone reaches over his shoulder and grabs the container of oatmeal for him, and he turns around with a bright smile to thank them. It fades just slightly when he sees that it’s Virgil holding the oatmeal. Virgil insists on helping him, and Patton tries to say he’s fine, but Virgil won’t budge, so Patton reluctantly acquiesces and the two make cookies together in relative silence, Patton watching Virgil closely and noting the slight tremor in his hands.

* * *

 

Logan is working on an experiment involving various stimuli and their resulting reactions, but it’s a bit difficult to conduct an experiment on oneself. After he finds himself getting frustrated with himself, he takes a step back and decides to ask for some help. He figures this would also be a good opportunity to acquire more observational data on Virgil’s current mental and physical states, so he finds the other in his room and asks for assistance. Virgil looks about ready to pass out, but he nods and follows Logan to his room.

Logan explains what he’s doing, watching Virgil closely to see if he’s actually paying attention, then he starts the experiments. He can tell as he goes that Virgil is fading in and out of focus, and he notes how shaky Virgil is when he insists later on to help Logan mix chemicals. He has to take the beaker, afraid Virgil will spill the liquid on himself, and he asks Virgil if he’s feeling anxious. Virgil reassures him that, “I’m not panicking, Lo, I promise, it’s okay” but even his voice sounds off. Logan quickly finishes what he was doing and sends Virgil back to his room. He’ll have to discuss his observations with Patton and Roman.

* * *

 

The three sides sat around the living room, discussing what they’d discovered and trying to come up with a plan to help Virgil without letting him figure out that they were helping him. If he knew, then he would refuse to be around them, and it would defeat the purpose of the whole thing. After much deliberation, they decide that Roman would invite Virgil to the imagination and try to tire him out with some ~~professional make-believe~~ acting.  Virgil comes downstairs and Roman jumps to his feet, challenging Virgil loudly. Virgil winces at the sheer volume of his voice, something that didn’t used to bother him, and agrees.

The two head into the imagination, and Roman is watching his every move. Virgil’s entire body is shivering like he’s cold, his steps are unsteady, and he stops-starts-walks every few feet. Roman sets up the scene around them with a wave of his hand; a dark, sinister lair full of various sinister devices, and a prince tied to a chair behind Virgil. Virgil shakes himself out and takes a deep breath, his eyes hazy and unfocused as Roman forced himself to play the part. He has to act like he isn’t worried for Virgil, that he doesn’t notice how the other is barely standing. He doesn’t look good. They aren’t even there for very long before Roman realizes that Virgil is essentially just standing there on autopilot, completely out of it. His face is slightly flushed and he’s still shaking, and before Roman can think he’s sinking them out of the imagination and into the living room.

Patton and Logan are sitting on the couch, Patton pretending to watch TV and Logan with a book open in his lap, though he’s not looking at it. Virgil stumbles as they rise up, and Roman remembers belatedly that Virgil doesn’t like how fast Roman rises up, that it makes him dizzy. Roman takes in Virgil’s appearance, seeing slight awareness in the other’s eyes, and dares to ask, “What’s wrong?” He doesn’t expect much of an answer, especially since Virgil doesn’t seem to have realized they’ve moved, and he was right; Virgil just steels his expression and clenches his fists slightly. Does he think they’re still in the imagination?

Patton gets up, hands out in front of him placatingly, asking Virgil to, “Please, please just go to bed. You look so exhausted kiddo, you need to relax. Come on, let’s get you to bed.” Virgil’s eyes widen slightly, and he takes three steps towards Patton before his knees buckle. Roman rushes forward to catch him, gripping his shoulders as Virgil’s knees hit the carpet, and he sees the confusion in Virgil’s face just before he passes out.

Logan and Patton are there in an instant as Roman shifts Virgil to lean against him. Patton feels Virgil’s forehead and gasps softly. “He’s burning up! I didn’t know he was sick!” Roman frowns. He should’ve noticed sooner. They all should have. How had they not noticed. Logan seems to see what he’s thinking by the expression on his face. “Roman, we had no way of knowing that Virgil’s behaviors were outside of his normal overly-anxious mannerisms. Not without him communicating as much to us. Don’t blame yourself for something you had no way of knowing.” Roman nods and takes Virgil’s jacket off him as he starts to sweat.

“We should move him. I don’t want to take him back to his room though; heaven knows what that negative atmosphere would do to him like this.”

Patton worries the sleeve of his cat hoodie. “But where should we put him? The couch would be so uncomfortable…”

Roman looks up at him and shrugs. “My room?”

“If I’m not mistaken, your room tends to exacerbate the creative aspect of his anxieties.” Roman deflates, picking Virgil up in his arms. “Right…”

Patton perks up, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “My room? It’s always happy!”

“Have you forgotten what happened the last time he was in your room, Padre? It’s not much better.”

And just like that Patton deflates, pouting.

“Then it would seem my room is the only logical location.” Logan said, pushing his glasses up his nose. Roman and Patton look at each other, shrugging, and Roman turns to take Virgil up the stairs. Virgil is curling into Roman’s warmth, shivering again, and Roman wishes he’d grabbed Virgil’s hoodie from the floor. Patton rushes ahead of them and opens Logan’s door for him, and Roman smiles at him as he sets Virgil in the logical side’s bed. “Thanks Padre. I’m assuming you want the first shift?”

Patton nods vigorously, chewing at his bottom lip. “I got him, kiddo, it’s fine.” He nods, trusting Virgil to Patton and heading back into the imagination to defeat a manticore-chimera.

* * *

 

Patton stayed by Virgil’s side near constantly through the growing days. He’d even go so far as to sleep next to the other to make sure he was there when Virgil woke up. Logan had taken to sleeping in Patton’s room because of this, despite not caring for the emotionally-charged space. God, how did Patton deal with all these… _feelings_?

Virgil wakes up on the third day, while Patton is making himself something to eat downstairs in the kitchen. Roman has temporarily taken his place, just a formality really, because he didn’t expect Virgil to choose that exact moment to wake up. It takes him a moment to realize that’s what’s happening, because Virgil’s eyes are still closed, but he begins to hear it in the other’s breathing, which is coming in shaky gasps that do something funny to Roman’s chest. Virgil’s face is the picture of fear as he tries to sit up, but it’s obvious he doesn’t have the energy and his muscles aren’t cooperating, and that seems to set him off more.

Roman sets a hand on his chest to keep him down, worry evident in his tone as he tries to calm Virgil down. “Shhhh, Virgil you need to calm down. Shhh, it’s okay, you’re okay. You’re in Logan’s room. We figured this would be the safest place for you besides the commons… Take a deep breath, it’s okay.”

Virgil goes lax, but he’s still breathing funny, so Roman tries to run him through the breathing exercise he uses when he’s having an anxiety attack. He doesn’t know if Virgil hears him, but it’s worth a shot. Virgil calms down, but he’s still shivering like he’d just come out of the snow. “Are you cold? I’ll go get you a blanket. Don’t move, I’ll be right back.” He leaves to go get a spare blanket out of the hallway cupboard, and when he comes back Virgil’s already asleep again.

Over the next few days, the other three sides take turns taking care of Virgil, because Patton’s started to run himself into the ground trying to watch over Virgil by himself. They go on shifts, the person who’s next in line doing things like cooking for the other two and keeping Thomas updated. Whenever Virgil wakes up, the only way they can tell is by the way his breathing changes because he hasn’t opened his eyes yet, and that kind of worries them but they don’t talk about it because _what if something’s wrong with him and he’s gone blind?_ They push the thought to the back of their minds and focus on taking care of their sick friend. They try to give him water when he wakes up, and wince when he coughs because with how jumpy he is there’s no way he’ll take medicine, so they can’t help his throat.

When Patton’s watching him, he’ll dab at Virgil’s face with a cold washcloth or wrap him in blankets and when he wakes up he’ll talk to him softly, holding his hand as he tells him about what they’ve all been doing since he last talked to him, or how long Virgil’s been sick and that he wishes he’d get better soon. Virgil never audibly responds, but Patton can see how he visibly relaxes once Patton starts speaking, so he talks about anything he can think of. He finds himself repeating things a lot, mainly “it’ll be okay”, “you’re safe”, and other phrases he uses when Virgil is panicking. Virgil falls back asleep to Patton stroking his hair and talking nonsense in a quiet voice.

When Roman watches Virgil, he’ll sit by his friend’s side, spinning grand adventures of princes, knights, fair maidens, and witches and dragons. The first story he’d told had Virgil cast as the villain, but one look at Virgil and Roman could tell that he didn’t like that. That made him feel horrible; he’d always insisted that Virgil play the villain when they were in the imagination. Did he hate that, too? Roman pushed the feelings aside and began to tell a tale of a young knight of the kingdom Doom and Gloom who set out on a quest to save the prince of the kingdom Thoughts and Dreams. As he wove his tale, thinking on the fly and leading the knight through many tales of victorious battles and grateful villagers, Virgil looked at peace, and Roman resolved to have Virgil play better rolls in his stories from now on. Maybe he could save Roman sometimes? Roman liked to play the hapless prince occasionally.

Logan didn’t know what to do around sick people. Objectively, he knew what you had to do medically to make them feel better until the illness passed, but… what were you supposed to do when this was your friend, who’s been sick for a week and doesn’t look like he’s getting better? Logan stuck to the facts. He’d adjust the blankets to suit however Virgil was feeling – whether he was shivering or sweating – and he would sit beside the bed and tell Virgil facts. It was both to distract himself and bring comfort to Virgil, since he knew the other became calmer with auditory stimulation. When he ran out of relevant facts about their situation, he’d try to share facts he thought Virgil would like. He told Virgil, “When Hitler invaded Paris, the French turned off all power to the Ifle Tower so that the Nazis would have to take the stairs instead of the lifts.” He thought, if Virgil were completely aware, he’d find that humorous.

* * *

 

When they’re sure Virgil will be asleep for a while, the other three sides meet up in the commons to talk. Virgil’s been sick for a week and a half, and Patton is far too worried. Granted, they weren’t humans, so they weren’t subject to dying from disease, and whatever was happening to Virgil wouldn’t be subject to the laws of nature and bacteria, so they had no idea how long this could go for.

Roman tried to remain positive. “Come on men, let’s look at the bright side!”

“And what, pray-tell would that be?”

“…..He can’t…die?”

Logan sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose. “It would help if we knew exactly how this happened in the first place.” Patton perks up at that, jumping on the balls of his feet and looking like a child who wants to speak but is waiting for the teacher’s permission. Logan sighs again.

“Yes, Patton?”

“Thomas has been super busy! And! And he hasn’t seen his friends!”

Roman and Logan look at each other, then Patton, and Patton can see the moment they realize what Patton had thought of weeks ago.

“Oh my god.”

“Is it really that simple?”

Patton starts bouncing more, excited to finally (maybe) make Virgil better. “We can try it! Someone needs to tell Thomas to take a break and go visit his friends!” Logan stands, adjusting his tie. “I shall do that, seeing as the two of you are better at… caring for our ailing friend.” Patton nods, and Logan sinks out. Roman hops up from the couch, dusting off his prince outfit. “Well, I suppose I shall make us some lunch to celebrate!” Patton smiles.

“Good idea Ro! I’m just gonna check on Virge really quick.”

Roman nods as he heads to the kitchen and Patton heads upstairs. Patton hums happily as he climbs the stairs, faltering slightly when he hears… Oh no… He can’t be…

Patton walks into Logan’s room, where Virgil is sitting up in bed, shaking violently and sobbing as big, fat tears roll down his cheeks. His eyes are barely open, Patton doubts he can really see past all the tears, but what Patton can see of his eyes looks unbearably sad. Virgil is babbling as he cries, and it takes Patton a moment to realize what he’s saying but it breaks his heart.

“G-gone… h-hate m-me… I-I-I’m sorry-y… p-p-please don’t l-leave me… I’m s-sorry… use-useless…. A-alone….”

Patton rushed to the bed, taking Virgil in his arms and petting his hair as he spoke softly, trying to keep his tone even. “Oh Virge, sweetheart, shhh, shhhh, it’s okay. I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you woke up, I’m so sorry. It’s okay, you’re okay. Lay down, baby.” He tries to gently guide Virgil into laying down, fixing the blankets around him. He grabs a washcloth out of the bowl of ice water on Logan’s desk, rings it out, then puts it on Virgil’s forehead. He sees Virgil visibly relax for a second before he starts crying harder. Patton feels his heart constrict and he shushes Vigil some more, and thankfully this time he doesn’t take long to calm down. Virgil looks seconds away from falling asleep, but Patton keeps petting his cheeks to get him to stay awake; he needs to eat.

“’m t’red… j’s w’na sl’p…” Patton frowns. “I know you’re tired baby, but do you think you can eat? It’ll make you feel better.” Virgil shakes his head.

“Can’t eat… c’n’t! Don’ w’na… p-pl’s don’… don’ m’ke m’.” He starts crying again, and Patton sighs softly. His poor boy was so exhausted…. He pets Virgil’s hair, and he calms down quickly; probably because he doesn’t have the energy to cry. “Come on baby, please? If you eat, just a little, I’ll let you sleep as long as you want. Please?” Roman walks into the room with a tray carrying a bowl of soup, and Patton smiles, taking it, and Roman turns to leave. Virgil finally nods, and Patton feels himself relax. He sets the tray aside and helps Virgil sit up, having him lean against the headboard and spoon feeding him the soup. Virgil looks like he’s relaxing more as he eats the soup, and when he’s eaten half of it, Patton helps him lay down again and fixes the cloth on his forehead. “Okay baby, thank you. You can sleep now.”  Virgil nods and falls asleep almost instantly.

* * *

 

Patton refuses to leave his side after that, especially when Virgil doesn’t wake up the next day. Or the one after that. He tries his best to stay awake for Virgil, so that he’s awake when the anxious side wakes up, but he allows himself little naps. He’s taking a nap when Virgil finally wakes up on the third day, feeling something shake him, just barely, and he whines, shifting and refusing to wake up fully; he’s so tired. Then the shaking gets harder to ignore, and there’s a voice telling him, “Patton, I can’t breathe. Wake up.” Patton huffs and opens his eyes, sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of them, allowing himself to wake up more.

Patton looks up, his eyes landing on Virgil, who’s awake, _he’s awake and his eyes are open, and he said something! His voice is almost gone but he said something!!!_

Patton throws himself at Virgil, hugging him tightly. “Oh, kiddo! I’m so glad you’re awake! You had us all worried so much! How are you feeling? How’s your throat? Does your head still hurt?” He needed to know if his kiddo was okay! But _oh my gosh he was awake!!!_

Virgil wheezes and taps Patton’s back. “C-can’t… Breathe.” Patton makes a small sound and backs off, feeling embarrassed; he should know better than to hug someone who was sick! “Oh, I’m sorry kiddo! I just got excited, you haven’t woken up in two days and-“

Virgil cuts him off, looking pale. “Wait, how long have I been sick?” Oh man… Patton really blew this one. Virgil was going to freak out… “…. Two weeks?”

Virgil’s eyes widen, and he makes an aborted sound in the back of his throat. Patton’s eyebrows knit together as Virgil’s breathing starts coming faster and he starts talking too fast, sitting up and gripping his hair. “How could I be so stupid, how could I let this happen? Oh god, is Thomas okay? Have I been replaced? What if they’ve figured out how to function without me? What if they don’t need me? What if they did and I wasn’t there and now Thomas is-“

Patton has to cut him off, because he’s barely breathing, and he looks about ready to pass out again and Patton _just got him back_. “Whoa, whoa, slow down kiddo, deep breaths. Thomas is okay, we’re all okay. You’re safe, everyone’s safe. Just breathe. That’s it, come on now, shhhh.” Patton gently pushes on his chest until Virgil lays back down, then starts petting his hair again. “Everything’s okay, you just rest up and get better, okay kiddo?” He smiles when Virgil nods. “You think you can eat something?” Virgil nods again, and Patton gets up, heading for the door. He stops as he reaches for the handle, biting hips lip and looking back at Virgil. Should he just like… yell down to Roman? No, he probably should go. He leaves, heading down to the kitchen.

When he gets downstairs, he finds Roman and Logan both on the couch, and they look almost like excited puppies when they see him. The thought makes him laugh a bit as he heads into the kitchen. He starts on some soup, Logan and Roman walking into the doorway.

“Has he finally regained consciousness?”

“Is he okay?”

“I assume by your pleasant demeanor that he is better?”

Patton just grinned and nodded. “Yep! He opened his eyes!” Both sides sag with relief, and Patton almost laughs, but he understands how they feel; they were all scared their idea wouldn’t work, but Thomas was out with Joan, Talyn, and Terrence right now so it must have.

“Can we see him then?” Roman looked like he was vibrating with nerves, the poor thing. Logan adjusts his glasses. “I believe it would be best not to overwhelm him; he may not be up to having several visitors at once.” Roman deflates.

“Right.”

Patton hums, stirring the soup. “Let me ask, okay kiddo? Maybe he’ll be okay with it, you never know!” Roman brightens at that, and Roman and Logan go back to the couch as Patton serves up the soup and carries it to Logan’s room. He enters the room, smiling at Virgil as he sets the tray with soup at Virgil’s feet as he helps him up. Once Virgil’s sitting up, he spoon-feeds him the soup, waiting until he’s done to ask, “You think you’re up to seeing Lo and Ro? They’ve been really worried, too.” Virgil nods, grimacing when he speaks – his throat must really hurt. “Yeah, fine, bring them in.”

Patton practically runs out of the room, stopping in front of the couch and babbling a quick, “He said come in!” before running back up the stairs. Roman isn’t far behind him, and though Logan would never admit it, he was running up the stairs too. They stop outside of Logan’s room to compose themselves before walking in, and the three sit on the bed around Virgil. It’s silent for a moment before Virgil says, “So…. That was crazy about the Nazis, huh?” Roman and Patton look confused, and mildly worried that Virgil’s still delirious, but then Logan starts laughing, so they figure it was an inside joke. The conversation develops quickly after that, the other three trying to carry most of it so Virgil doesn’t have to speak too much. They don’t want to admit that the sound of his voice makes their hair stand on end; it sounds so painful.

After a few hours, Virgil starts to sag against the headboard, his eyelids drooping. Patton looks over at him and nudges Roman, who’s in the middle of retelling his latest escapade, and Roman smiles. “Get some rest, Hot Topic.” Virgil hums noncommittally and Roman gets up, dragging Logan out with him. Patton smiles kindly, helping Virgil lay down and tucking him back in before kissing his forehead. He pets the anxious side’s hair, talking to him until he falls asleep.

* * *

 

The next day, the three sides are all in the living room, debating if they should go check on Virgil and wake him up. He was still sick yesterday after all; just because he woke up and talked to them didn’t mean he was magically cured. Just then, Virgil comes shuffling down the stairs and they pretend to be reading and watching TV. Virgil silently sits down on the opposite end of the couch, and they’re just so glad to have him back that they can’t find it in them to say anything.

Well, Patton would lecture him about proper communication and self-care tomorrow, but for now, he was going to watch Big Hero 6 with his dark strange son.

 “Guys? …Shouldn’t we tell Thomas?”

Roman flaps his hand dismissively. “He already knows, Surley Temple, don’t worry.”

Yep, it was great to have him back.


End file.
